Lu Liangwei got up, bolted the door securely, and stacked some furniture against it before returning to the bed.
Long Chi and his lackeys would never guess that she was hiding in a brothel.
Although the people here were a mixed bag, the brothel would not allow anyone to interrupt its clients from enjoying the good time they had paid for.
Therefore, she was totally reassured of her safety.
She could finally enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Lu Liangwei nudged the prostitute further inside, then lay down fully clothed.
Free from worry, Lu Liangwei was soon sound asleep.
She slept until the sun was well up the next day.
However, she was not in a hurry to get up. She lay in bed for a while, formulating her next plan.
If Long Chi and his lackeys had survived the poison and found out that she was in this city, they would definitely have searched the city for her last night. Since they had failed to find her, they would surely be lying in wait for her at the city gates. If she went out right now, she would be delivering herself into their hands.
For that reason, she could not leave now.
She had to wait another two days at least.
As Lu Liangwei predicted, Long Chi and his party had searched all the inns in the city last night but failed to find any trace of her.
Therefore, they stood guard at the city gates early the next morning.
Once Lu Liangwei appeared, she would have absolutely no chance of escaping.
They had been lying in wait since the city gates opened, but the sun was already high in the sky, and there was still no sign of Lu Liangwei.
Liu Fu was starting to get impatient, and he said politely, “Young Master, since Lu Liangwei has escaped, maybe we should just let her go. We should really get going now. We can’t delay our journey just because of a woman.”
Jiang Chong shared the same sentiment too. Lu Liangwei was a feisty one, and things were bound to go wrong sooner or later if his master kept her around.
Since she had escaped, perhaps they should just let her go.
“Master, Liu Fu’s right. We need to be on our way to the Yan Kingdom now. Maybe we should just let Lu Liangwei go,” he could not help chiming in.
Their lack of motivation to continue searching for Lu Liangwei made Zeng Lunan anxious.
“I disagree! How can we let Lu Liangwei go so easily after all the trickery she pulled on us? Now that she’s stranded in a strange city, it’s the best time to get our payback. If she escapes back to the imperial capital, it won’t be easy to find her anymore in the future.”
Liu Fu and Jiang Chong were well aware of his intentions, and they glowered at him when they heard him egg Long Chi on.
“Stop sounding so pretentious, Zeng Lunan. You just want to kill Lu Liangwei, don’t you? In that case, you can stay here yourself. Don’t drag our master into this.”
However, Zeng Lunan ignored them and looked at Long Chi.
“I did so much for you because you promised that you’d kill Lu Liangwei.” There was a slight pause. “If you won’t do it, then I’ll bring the antidote to the Emperor. I’m sure he’ll be happy to make this deal with me for the sake of the people and soldiers at the frontier.”
Shock colored Liu Fu and Jiang Chong’s faces. “Zeng Lunan, are you mad? How could you even think of handing over the antidote?”
“Why not? My only wish is to kill Lu Liangwei. I did what you told me to and poisoned the army at the frontier, but you keep making excuses and dismissing your promise to me. Since you refuse to deal with Lu Liangwei, I can only figure a way out myself.”
Long Chi laughed brusquely. “You think too highly of yourself and too little of the Emperor’s love for Lu Liangwei. I’m telling you, even if you offer the antidote to the Emperor, he’ll never kill Lu Liangwei for it. You think Ling Lihua’s an amateur? Your poison may be difficult to cure, but given Ling Lihua’s skills, I bet she’s already developed an antidote long ago. If you go to the imperial capital so recklessly, you’ll be delivering yourself straight into their hands!”
